Arkansas and Louisiana Receive Nearly $2.5 Million in FEMA Preparedness Grants

DENTON, Texas — Fire departments in Arkansas and Louisiana and been awarded more than $2.49 million in preparedness grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In Arkansas, the grants total more than $1.3 million and cover a variety of items including:

• Firefighting equipment for the Williams Junction Volunteer Fire Department in Perryville, the Valley View Fire Protection District in Jonesboro, the Bauxite Fire Department and Crawford County Fire District One in Rudy;
• A tanker vehicle for the Jacksonport Volunteer Fire Department;
• A water tender vehicle for the Burnt Ridge Volunteer Fire Department in Shirley;
• A manufacturer burn simulator for the Butterfield District 5 Volunteer Fire Department in Van Buren;
• A pumper vehicle for the Galla Rock Rural Volunteer Fire Department in Centerville;
• A brush truck for the North Pulaski Fire Protection District 15 in Jacksonville; and
• Radio equipment for the Hensley Volunteer Fire Department.

In Louisiana, the grants total more than $1.1 million and pay for firefighting equipment for the Oakdale Fire Department and the Melville Volunteer Fire Department; health screenings and fitness equipment for the Ruston Fire Department; communications equipment for the Spearsville Fire Protection District LA; and two vehicles — a pumper vehicle and a water tender vehicle — for St. Tammany Parish Fire District 9 in Bush.

The federal grants are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program. The primary goal of the AFG is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders get critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

For more information on the AFG program, visit http://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grant.

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